And this weekend, it's up to the Edmonton Eskimos defence to try and keep Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant in check.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," said Eskimos head coach Richie Hall. "He's a guy that doesn't necessarily have the strongest arm, he's not the biggest guy, he doesn't run the fastest, but he's a winner.

"When you see his teammates, they rally around him because he's a natural leader. He plays hard, he's smart, he works hard and he's everything that you want the person in that position to be."

In two games this season, Durant has thrown for 733 yards with six touchdowns.

The Roughriders opened the year with a thrilling 54-51 overtime victory over the Montreal Alouettes, and then beat the B.C. Lions 37-18.

The Eskimos, meanwhile, have lost both to the Lions and Alouettes to start the season.

"We all know what we're going to face this week in Durant and we're prepared for it," said Eskimos defensive tackle Dario Romero. "You never prepare to play a bad quarterback, so it's nothing new. As players we control what we do out there, you never worry about who you're going to face, what kind of offence you're going to face. You just have to go out there and play to the best of your ability.

"We know what we have to do, we haven't won a game yet, everybody wants to win and we're going there to win."

Romero missed the first two games of the season with an ankle injury, but was back on the practice field on Thursday.

It's not certain whether he'll be ready to go against the Roughriders. "It's getting closer," he said.